A Rabun County man has received a life sentence plus six years for the 2023 murder of a 22-year-old woman, according to the Office of the District Attorney of the Mountain Judicial Circuit.
Keegan Cleve Plumer Phillips III, 25, entered a guilty plea on Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, for malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and two counts of abandonment of a dead body in the death of Martha Angela Ledford.
Phillips admitted that he strangled Ledford in early August 2023 at a residence on Peppers Lane in Rabun County. He later removed her body from the home and left it off Patterson Gap Road, allegedly with the help of a co-defendant whose case is still pending.
The DA’s office says Phillips returned to Ledford’s body a day later and decapitated her.
The alleged co-defendant Robert Peppers contacted law enforcement about Ledford’s death, although she had not yet been reported missing. The Hall County Sheriff’s Office received the call and contacted the Rabun County Sheriff’s Office which began an investigation with the assistance of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Special Agent Kristin Perry along with other members of the GBI and RCSO conducted a thorough investigation interviewing potential witnesses and processing crime scenes.
While Phillips’ location was initially unknown, a tip from a Hall County homeowner caused law enforcement to search that area. He was taken into custody on Aug. 8, 2023, by multiple agencies including the Georgia State Patrol, Hall County Sheriff’s Office, Rabun County Sheriff’s Office, the GBI, and other agencies.
After Phillips was arrested, he was interviewed by GBI Special Agents Kristin Perry and Adam Selby and was read his rights. He admitted to strangling Ledford and gave details of how he disposed of her remains.
Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Fogal in consultation with District Attorney George Christian and the victim’s family offered the plea to Phillips which was accepted by the Honorable Brian Rickman, presiding by designation.
Phillips was sentenced to life in prison plus six additional years of confinement.
